About Titanium Rain

Friday, May 21, 2010

Excellent question. Russia's involvement in the war (or lack there of), is a major plot point in Book Three. For now, here's how much I will reveal. Russia is NOT happy about the war in China, and did consider taking action early on. But the Jades took hold of China so rapidly that it became clear to Russia that they may have to accept the Jades as their new neighbor. For now Russia is officially neutral, but that may change....very, very soon. Also, consequently, the Russian arms industry has been selling hardware to both the Sino Union, the Jades, and India (who is part of the Allies).

The guys at Exploring the Multivers Podcast gave an awesome review of Titanium Rain in their 20th episode. They also take the time to talk about the other books they got at Super Show '10 and the art piece they got from Josh of Power Girl.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The feedback on Titanium Rain has been awesome. The reviews on Amazon.com so far have been all five stars and we’ve been getting letters from all over the world saying how much people loved this book.

-Kat

What, politically and economically, motivated you to write that the U.S. would enter a direct conflict with China?

Politically or economically? I'm not sure what you mean by this. Economically, I suppose, I could say I do want the story to sell and make money. But politically? I believe I'm saying more about the human condition rather than commenting on any one government or nation. Above all else, though, my motivation is to write a damn good story. My aim is no less than penning a sci-fi classic that is smart, compelling, and worth your time. If it makes you think, good...but I'm not drafting a manifesto here. For a long time now many of the themes in Titanium Rain were burning in my brain and I needed to get them out...deeper ideas that go beyond politics. War, atheism, evolution, man's relationship to technology -- these things came first in the story process. The idea of setting a war in China came much later.

-Josh

Since the Air Force has the F35X Hellcat, do the Marines or the Army have their own super special versions of the JSF?

Well, remaining strictly in the realm of reality, the F-35 Lightening was developed specifically to be a one-size fits all plane of the various branches of the military. Multiple variants of this jet currently exist. The F-35C, which is capable of vertical take-off and landing, is used by the US Marine Corps. In the Titanium Rain setting this concept has been taken further and countless variants of the F-35 exist. Many of these fictional F-35 variants can be seen in the back material of the Titanium Rain hardcover.

Oh...one other thing. Just like in reality, the US Army in Titanium Rain doesn't use F-35s.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Look, you guys start sending me stuff like this and I'm liable to make weird references to it in Book 2. Book 1 has already got a ton of MST3k and b-movie references hidden away in it. You've been warned.

Politically or economically? I'm not sure what you mean by this. Economically, I suppose, I could say I do want the story to sell and make money. But politically? I believe I'm saying more about the human condition rather than commenting on any one government or nation. Above all else, though, my motivation is to write a damn good story. My aim is no less than penning a sci-fi classic that is smart, compelling, and worth your time. If it makes you think, good...but I'm not drafting a manifesto here. For a long time now many of the themes in Titanium Rain were burning in my brain and I needed to get them out...deeper ideas that go beyond politics. War, atheism, evolution, man's relationship to technology -- these things came first in the story process. The idea of setting a war in China came much later.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Well, remaining strictly in the realm of reality, the F-35 Lightening was developed specifically to be a one-size fits all plane of the various branches of the military. Multiple variants of this jet currently exist. The F-35C, which is capable of vertical take-off and landing, is used by the US Marine Corps. In the Titanium Rain setting this concept has been taken further and countless variants of the F-35 exist. Many of these fictional F-35 variants can be seen in the back material of the Titanium Rain hardcover.

Oh...one other thing. Just like in reality, the US Army in Titanium Rain doesn't use F-35s.

Funny you should ask. Archaia Entertainment has been looking to beef up their child-friendly titles and I proposed a story concept similar to this...except the monkeys go berserk and end up devouring the cast from Fraggle Rock. I even wanted David Petersen of Mouse Guard to illustrate it, but by the time this came up in conversation everyone in the room was convinced I'd had a few too many.

Funny you should ask. Archaia Entertainment has been looking to beef up there child-friendly titles and I proposed a story concept similar to this...except the monkeys go berserk and end up devouring the cast from Fraggle Rock. I even wanted David Petersen of Mouse Guard to illustrate it, but by the time this came up in conversation everyone in the room was convinced I'd had a few too many

I know as creators you want to keep moving forward, but I have to ask: will you ever return to the Utopiates? Or if you're not planning to do so, have you ever considered opening the idea to other creators, like David Petersen is doing with Mouseguard?I've always intended to return to Utopiates when the time is right. A lot of it depend on the publisher, though, Bloodfire Studios. As for inviting other creators to contribute to the Utopiates setting, ABSOLUTELY. From day one I wanted Utopiates to be an "open" univerve in which other could play in. I even proposed to Bloodfire the idea of a "Utopiates: Urban Legends" book which would allow for exactly this.

5 minutes ago

Question: when will the next book be out?Damn...with all the delays on the first book (thank's to our censor happy pals in China) I'm sort of paranoid at this point about making any promises.

2 hours ago

In the TR world, how well accepted are American born Asians in the U.S.? Are they at all, or are there internment camps like they did with Japanese in America during WWII? by Wookiee71Nope. No internment camps. For all our troules, the America of 2030 has moved past this sort of thing. Are there hate crimes? Sure. They will always be stupid people who do this sort of thing, but widespread state instituded racism against Asians? No.

2 hours ago

Assuming it was up to you, which would you rather see, a Titanium Rain movie or TV (mini?) series? Also is it true that the book is "banned" in China? (I think I heard that rumor but can't find a weblink.As far as seeing Titanium Rain translated into a film or TV mini-series, I'm open to either. That said, I'm not writing this story in the hopes that some day it'll be told in another medium. As an author and artist, sequential story telling is the medium I've chosen to work in. A graphic novel is EXACTLY how I want readers to experience Titanium Rain. The story is written to take full advantage of the medium's strengths, and really couldn't be told any other way without losing some of the magic

That said, if anyone was to make Titanium Rain in to a film, my dream would be for it to be animated by Production IG and directed by Mamoru Oshii.

-Josh

2 hours ago

We have placed a TR order @ local Borders; next plan to do same at local Barnes & Noble. Any other suggestions?Amazon.com, InstockTrades.com, and your local comic book stores. All these places are great for ordering. And Instock Trades and Amazon both have it at a discount.